Where Monday's Chili Bowl Racers Start In Saturday's Alphabet Soup

A look at where Monday's Chili Bowl racers will start in Saturday's alphabet soup.

Jan 13, 2026 by FloRacing Staff

The 40th annual Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy officially began on Monday night with the first 69 of a potential 400+ competitors bringing us 9 Heat Races, 4 Qualifiers, 2 C-Mains, 2 B-Mains, and a 30-lap Preliminary A-Main that lived up to the hype in Tulsa.

Let’s take a quick look at where those preliminary finishers will land in Saturday’s famed alphabet soup:

TO THE A-MAIN (1-2) – Kyle Larson, Briggs Danner

TO THE B-MAINS (3-8) – Cannon McIntosh, Shane Golobic, Jerry Coons Jr, Justin Peck, Kameron Key, Tanner Carrick

TO THE C-MAINS (9-14) – Jakeb Boxell, Nick Hoffman, Gary Taylor, Trey Marcham, Trey Zorn, Gaige Weldon

TO THE D-MAINS (15-20) – Jake Andreotti, Dillon Welch, Joe B. Miller, Zach Hampton, Ryder McCutcheon, Alex Sewell

TO THE E-MAINS (21-24) – Noah Harris, Nick Drake, Todd Kluever, Tanner Berryhill

Going fourth-to-first, Kyle Larson picked his way by Shane Golobic, Briggs Danner, and Cannon McIntosh to take the lead by Lap 10 in Monday’s opening preliminary night - a lead he would not relinquish for the remaining 20 laps, although traffic made it hairy. For KL, his ninth-career preliminary win broke a tie with Rico Abreu, Christopher Bell, and Sammy Swindell for the most all-time in 40 years of the Chili Bowl. The HendrickCars.com, FloRacing No. 1K pilot has punched his ticket in his 13th Chili Bowl Championship A-Main as he chases a fourth Golden Driller come Saturday night.

Behind Larson was a man who was out for redemption and adamant on correcting his mistakes from a year ago, that being Briggs Danner. If you rewind to the 2025 Monday opener at Chili Bowl, the Allentown, Pennsylvania native flipped big time when he was sliding Golobic for the lead in that preliminary A-Main. The Alex Bowman Racing driver insisted he’s learned from that heartbreaking loss, and he proved it 52 weeks later last night. The USAC star outlasted McIntosh and Golobic in a fierce battle for the final lock-in and even had a shot at Larson to steal the win, but he settled for a P2 to punch his ticket into a second Championship A-Main.

A stout six-car group splitting into Saturday’s B-Mains (2 races, 20 laps, 7 transfer) includes three-time preliminary winner Cannon McIntosh in a Kunz/Curb-Agajanian machine, 12-time Championship A-Main starter Shane Golobic in the Matt Wood Racing, NOS Energy No. 17W, Arizona legend Jerry Coons Jr. in pursuit of his 19th all-time A-Main appearance, High Roller Justin Peck aiming to get into his first A-Main since 2017, Missourian Kameron Key in a new outfit with Trifecta Motorsports, and a second KKM car with Tanner Carrick in the No. 98.

Also making the cut for opening ceremonies with a Saturday C-Main bid (2 races, 15 laps, 5 transfer) was the leading contender for Chili Bowl Rookie of the Year in Jakeb Boxell, World of Outlaws Late Model star Nick Hoffman, Mike & Brian Dunlap’s hired gun in Gary Taylor, Oklahoma native and former Championship A-Main top-10 finisher Trey Marcham, Kansas’ Trey Zorn, and Iowa’s Gaige Weldon.

All of the Chili Bowl fun continues tonight with Tuesday’s preliminary taking center stage. If you can’t be here to witness the Tulsa magic yourself, you can watch every lap live all week long on FloRacing. The coverage begins each day Monday-Friday at 3pm CT with the Chili’s Grill & Bar Pre-Race Show followed by Dirt Draft Hot Laps at 4pm CT.

FloRacing is the official live streaming partner of the Chili Bowl Nationals, which continues all the way through Saturday, January 17. If you’re not a FloRacing subscriber, become one today to get full access to the Tulsa Shootout, Chili Bowl Nationals, High Limit Racing, Lucas Oil Late Model Series, USAC Racing, and so much more.